What happens in Vegas ... well, you know the rest. However here are 24 realities about Sin City you likely haven't heard.
1. The majority of Vegas' iconic hotels aren't technically located in the city of Las Vegas. A great part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the renowned "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign-- are in fact located in an unincorporated town called Paradise, Nevada.
2. One attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the large neon cowboy that commands downtown's renowned Fremont Street. It's the largest mechanical neon sign in the world.
3. More than 41 million visitors cycle through Sin City each year ...
4. ... So it's a great thing the town boasts 14 of the world's 20 biggest hotels.
5. There's so much realty for travelers to make the most of, it would take an individual 288 years to spend a night in every hotel room in the city.
6. There's a secret city beneath the city. Miles of tunnels-- initially constructed to protect the desert town from flash floods-- house hundreds of homeless citizens.
7. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from founder-- and legendary mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. Starlet Virginia Hill passed the nickname "The Flamingo" because of her red hair and long, thin legs.
8. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of prejudiced Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service tasks-- kept African Americans from the growing city's hotels and casinos. Even legendary performers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole were required to get in and leave the places in which they were performing through back doors and side entrances. In 1952, acting legend Sammy Davis Jr. swam in the whites-only pool at the New Frontier Hotel & Gambling Establishment. Afterwards, the manager had it drained.
In May 1955, the Moulin Rouge made history when it became the city's first interracial casino. Legendary boxer Joe Louis, a part owner, stated, "This isn't really the opening of a Las Vegas hotel.
10. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was understood for placing on a various type of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would evaluate nuclear gadgets. Las Vegas' Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking chance, and decided to distribute calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing places.
Famous recluse Howard Hughes inspected into the strip's Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Day 1966, leasing the whole leading 2 floorings. When he overstayed his 10-day appointment, he was asked to leave.
FedEx creator Frederick W. Smith conserved the shipment business with a journey to Vegas. In 1974-- three years after he created the company-- the Yale grad took the venture's last $5,000 and turned it into $32,000 with a weekend of blackjack.
13. Do not disturb: Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any other city in the United States.
14. Reason to hope? Nevada law specifies that video slots should pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the cash deposited typically. (Though it's worth noting that in New Jersey, the home of gambling mecca Atlantic City, it's 83 percent.).
15. It takes roughly 10 minutes to snatch a marriage license at the bureau in downtown Las Vegas, which is open every day from 8 a.m. till midnight. No surprise some 10,000 couples wed in the city every month.
More than 60,000 pounds of the shellfish are consumed in the city each day. That's higher than the rest of the country-- combined.
17. The half-scale model of the Eiffel Tower, located outside Paris Las Vegas, was originally planned to be full-size, but due to the close proximity of the airport-- just 3 miles-- it needed to be diminished down. On the other hand, the Luxor Las Vegas' Sphinx is in fact bigger than the initial Terrific Sphinx of Giza.
18. At 50 lots, the bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel a fantastic read is thought to be the biggest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.
19. The unique gold color of the windows at the Mirage Hotel comes from real gold dust.
20. There are 3933 guest spaces at Bellagio Las Vegas-- more than the variety of citizens in the city of Bellagio, Italy.
21. Not into casinos? The city also features a heavy equipment playground where construction enthusiasts can drive around bulldozers for fun.
22. Prior to his death in 2009, Michael Jackson was checking out doing a Vegas residency. He prepared to market it with a 50-foot robot-likeness of himself that would stroll the Nevada desert.
23. At Vegas restaurant Cardiac arrest Grill, waitresses gown in nurses attire and customers can purchase an 8000-calorie quadruple bypass burger with a side of flatliner fries. (Fried in pure lard!) Unfortunately, in 2013, among the area's routine clients died ... from an obvious cardiac arrest.
24. From external space, the Las Vegas Strip appears as the brightest area on Earth. Who cares if it's not really in Las Vegas?
Most of Vegas' renowned hotels aren't technically situated in the city of Las Vegas. A good part of the Las Vegas Strip-- and the well known "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" indication-- are really located in an unincorporated municipality called Paradise, Nevada.
One tourist attraction that is within Las Vegas city limits: Vegas Vic, the extra-large neon cowboy that administers over downtown's famed Fremont Street. The strip's Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Gambling establishment got its name from founder-- and famous mobster-- Bugsy Siegel's sweetheart. In the mid-20th century, Las Vegas possessed its own set of prejudiced Jim Crow laws, which-- with the exception of low-wage service jobs-- kept African Americans out of the growing city's hotels and gambling establishments.